Find company not on companies house who has disappeared after taking my deposit

comeandgo

Sandtree said:

comeandgo said:

Sandtree said:

Debbo1 said:

Hi,  I wish to take a company to the small claims court to recover  a deposit paid for building works not carried out and not responding to my correspondence.  The company is not appearing on Companies House however.  How can I find them?  

If they are not on Companies House then they are not a UK company. 

Only limited companies will be recorded at companies house.  Partnership and sole traders who are perfectly legally trading will not be known there.

No, unlimited companies (like this site used to be when Martin got embarrassed with how much money he was making) and Limited Liability Partnerships are also listed.

Partnerships and Sole Traders are not companies but are a perfectly legal form of business yes but aren't companies @comeandgo as a company is a legal entity in its own right whereas the other two forms of business do not create an independent legal entity

A company only has a legal right under company law, a ltd company, a company is any gathering of people who agree together.  Many companies use the word company in their name and are not ltd companies but are still trading legally as sole traders or unlimited partnerships.  Sole traders are a taxation term, I know many sole traders, companies, who have a few hundred employees but they are still sole traders, though we are getting away from the original op question.

bris

Surely you don't just send a load of money to momeone without knowing who they are?

Sandtree

Can't say I know any sole traders with hundreds of employees however accept it is fully possible, sole trader simply means there is a single individual at the top who is the business... it doesn't mean they work alone nor that they cannot have employees. 

Its interesting you mention company law because this is basically https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/contents which only applies to incorporated entities which includes, for example under 2.7, that they must incorporate under a memorandum of association, a requirement that doesn't apply to sole traders or unlimited partnerships. Similarly https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31676/11-1399-guide-legal-forms-for-business.pdf where it states Companies are ‘incorporated’ to form an entity with a separate legal personality which again isn't true for sole traders and partnerships.

As to sole traders using company in their business name/trading style? Can't think of any unless you are referring to "& Co" at the end of a name in which case its referring to the plain English alternative meaning of company in the same way as you'd say to your friend that you enjoy their company and not mean the products they sell you.

Unfortunately people use company and business interchangeably whereas there are differences (which is why we have two words and why gov.uk refers to sole traders only as a business not a company)